Groups aim to lure alums back to Maine

BANGOR – Wanted: University of Maine alumni who have moved out of state.

Aiming to attract graduates back to Maine to start or expand businesses, three area organizations have created a number of new strategies to make people aware of the job opportunities that now exist in the state.

“These people already know that Maine is a great place to live. Now they need to know it’s a great place to get a job or start a business,” said Renee Kelly of the University of Maine’s Office of Research and Economic Development.

That office is partnering with the University of Maine Alumni Association and the Bangor Region Development Alliance to entice alumni to come back to Maine to live and work. Together, they’ve created a new Web site, www.mainealumni. com/resource, containing information on starting or expanding a business as well as on job opportunities.

There also is a link to learn more about graduate school opportunities since they are an important draw for young adults, Kelly said Thursday. Many of the companies that the university has spun off have had graduate students involved, she pointed out.

In addition, the alumni association is combing its database to identify graduates living in the Boston area. The plan is to hold a reception down there so representatives from the alumni association and from the Bangor Region Development Alliance can meet with about 50 business executives and entrepreneurs who might be interested in opening a business in Maine.

“They will share the story of what Maine has to offer,” said Kelly.

Gov. John Baldacci got the ball rolling a couple of weeks ago when he appealed to fellow alumni through a letter in the latest issue of the Maine Alumni Magazine. The governor pointed out that the state has made significant investments in research and development and in programs that support entrepreneurs.

He noted that UM is working with private companies to market new products and technologies. And he touted the new Pine Tree Development Zones that provide tax incentives to new businesses, as well as the Maine Technology Institute, which offers seed money and other assistance for startup businesses. Baldacci also referred to the network of business incubators that offer counseling and other resources to help companies grow.

“Whether you are a corporate executive thinking about expanding or relocating, someone interested in starting a business, or someone looking for new opportunities, please take a close look at what is happening in Maine,” Baldacci said in the letter.

In an effort to highlight alumni who have started successful companies in the state, the magazine included a profile of UM graduate Chris Frank, who formed a company called Intelligent Spatial Technologies at UM’s Target Technology Incubator in Orono. Future issues will contain stories of other alumni who are living and working in the state.

Also in the publication is a message from alumni association chairman Bion Foster.

“Come Home to Maine! If we are a wonderful place to visit and vacation, a wonderful place in which to live, and a great place to raise your family, then why not live and work here?” he wrote.

The magazine is well positioned to spread the word. With a circulation of 12,000, it is issued several times a year to the alumni association’s 8,500 members as well as to donors and friends.

“The greatest way that we … can help the state is by promoting it to our alumni,” said Donna Thornton, interim president of the University of Maine Alumni Association.

“This is launching what we hope to be a continuing effort … to reach out to alumni so they can see what is going on at the university, what other alums are doing, and what’s going on in the state so they can look at Maine as an investment.”

The Web site also cites such attractions as Bangor’s American Folk Festival and Fort Kent’s Maine Winter Sports Center world cup competition. The idea is to focus on the state’s culture and quality of life so that they’ll “remember what it was like when they were here in school,” said Thornton.

“Hopefully that will tug on them a little bit to remind them that they would like to move back to the place where they got their education and that Maine’s a great place to live and raise a family,” she said.